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Category: Original Reviews

Responses to Peary’s “must see” movie reviews, as well as my own “must see” movie reviews up to and after 1986 (when Peary’s book was published).

Unholy Three, The (1930)

Unholy Three, The (1930)

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“I wasn’t brought up on green grass and apple pie and Christmas trees like you was.”

Synopsis:
Three sideshow performers — Echo the ventriloquist (Lon Chaney, Sr.), Hercules the strongman (Ivan Linow), and a midget (Harry Earles) — team up undercover with Echo’s girlfriend (Lila Lee) to run a bird shop as a front for robbing customers’ homes. When the shop’s innocent clerk (Elliott Nugent), who is in love with Rosie (Lee), is falsely accused of theft, Lee must determine where her loyalty lies.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Con Artists
  • Falsely Accused
  • Lon Chaney, Sr. Films
  • Mistaken or Hidden Identities
  • Thieves and Criminals

Review:
Lon Chaney, Sr.’s first talkie (and final film) was this remake of Tod Browning’s marvelously unique silent film of the same name, which starred Victor McLaglen in the role of Hercules. Unfortunately, the addition of sound doesn’t do much for the film at all — and without Browning’s quirky touch, it falls rather flat. Viewers who’ve never seen the original will likely be intrigued to see Chaney in drag:

… and Earles’ impersonation as a babbling baby:

… but they do nothing new or innovative in the remake. Meanwhile, the drama involving a clueless sap (Nugent) hopelessly in love with pretty but gruff Lee doesn’t ring true:

(How can he never hear any of the shenanigans going on right behind closed doors in the shop?) You can skip this one unless you’re curious to compare the versions, and/or to hear Chaney, Sr.’s voice on film.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Some memorable images

Must See?
No. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

J’accuse! (1919)

J’accuse! (1919)

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“The dead — and the living. I don’t know anymore! I accuse!”

Synopsis:
A poet (Romuald Joube) in love with the wife (Maryse Dauvray) of a brute (Severin-Mars) ends up befriending Francois (Severin-Mars) when they are sent to fight together in World War I and their mutual love for Edith (Dauvray) unexpectedly unites them. When Jean (Joube) returns home to visit his dying mother (Mancini), he learns that Edith has a young daughter fathered while she was kidnapped by German soldiers, and they try to determine how to prevent Francois from lashing out in anger.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • French Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Marital Problems
  • Silent Films
  • World War I

Review:
Writer-director Abel Gance’s J’accuse! — remade as a sound film in 1938 — is an interesting mixture of romantic melodrama and anti-war sentiment, filled with plenty of cinematic creativity and skill. Unfortunately, the storyline starts off creakily, as we see a poet (Joube) pining away for his lover (Dauvray):

… who is nastily treated by her abusive husband:

— but all is resolved (sort of) when the poet suddenly takes on a dangerous mission meant for Severin-Mars, and out of sheer gratitude, the pair realize they should simply bond over their mutual love for Dauvray.

The added complication of Dauvray fathering a child while kidnapped:

… gets us confused once again, as we’re not sure which is worse: Severin-Mars believing the child is a product of rape by a German, or Joube’s love-child. Regardless, all of this initial drama should probably be glossed over in favor of appreciating Gance’s cinematic genius, especially as he moves into supernatural territory with his depiction of Joube going mad from the terrors of war and believing slaughtered soldiers are coming back to life to judge those left behind.

His imagery is truly provocative, and worth a look by fans of silent cinema.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Fine cinematography and visual effects throughout



  • The hauntingly powerful “return of the dead” final sequences

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended if you’re a silent cinema lover.

Links:

Hoodlum Priest, The (1961)

Hoodlum Priest, The (1961)

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“You can’t change a man by punishing him; you just build his hatred.”

Synopsis:
A Jesuit priest (Don Murray) dedicated to supporting ex-cons helps a recently released prisoner (Keir Dullea) get a job at a produce market; but will Billy Lee (Dullea) stay straight and marry his sweetheart (Cindi Wood) or return to a life of crime?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Do-Gooders
  • Don Murray Films
  • Ex-Cons
  • Keir Dullea Films
  • Priests and Ministers

Review:
At the height of his stardom, actor Don Murray wrote, produced, and starred in this atmospherically shot narrative — directed by Irvin Kershner and filmed by DP Haskell Wexler — based on the life of Father Charles Dismas Clark, who approached Murray about making a movie in order to raise money for a half-way house in St. Louis. While Murray faced numerous challenges in getting his film made (he was over-budget within a day), the film eventually earned a profit and rave reviews from critics, yet mysteriously fell under the radar due to a complex array of factors (click here to read more). The Hoodlum Priest remains overly earnest but visually engaging, and Dullea is notable in his breakthrough role. Meanwhile, the film certainly has its heart in the right place — like I Want to Live! (1958), it makes a compelling case against the horrors of capital punishment.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Strong performances by the leads

  • Fine location shooting in St. Louis
  • Haskell Wexler’s atmospheric cinematography

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a one-time look.

Links:

Twitch of the Death Nerve / Last House on the Left, Part II, The (1971)

Twitch of the Death Nerve / Last House on the Left, Part II, The (1971)

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“If you kill for killing’s sake, you become a monster.”

Synopsis:
On a beautiful bay-front property, a wheelchair-bound woman (Isa Miranda) is killed by her husband (Giovanni Nuvoletti), who is promptly murdered by a mysterious assailant. We soon learn that a local real estate agent (Chris Avran) and his lover (Anna Maria Rosati) had plotted with Nuvoletti to kill his wife; meanwhile, a quartet of teenagers come to explore the bay and are killed by Miranda’s illegitimate son (Claudio Camaso), who has been scheming with Avram to sign over the bay to them but is foiled when Nuvoletti’s daughter (Claudine Auger) arrives with her husband (Luigi Pistilli), and their own desire for the property complicates the bloody situation even further — including involving a local entomologist (Leopoldo Trieste) and his tarot card-reading wife (Laura Betti).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Horror Films
  • Mario Bava Films
  • Serial Killers

Review:
Mario Bava’s stylish horror film is notable for the being a direct forerunner of “summer slasher flick” Friday the 13th (1980) — especially given the inclusion of an otherwise random subplot about a group of young adults frolicking on the property:

who are done away with one by one (or, in an infamous shot, two at once):

Twitch of the Last Death Nerve — also known as A Bay of Blood and The Last House on the Left, Part II (!!) — is filled not only with LOTS of gore but plenty of kooky, mysterious, and/or sinister characters:



… who may or may not be responsible for the spate of bloody killings that won’t stop taking place. Favorite random line: “You are full of hot dogs and cadillacs, and you have no music in your soul.”

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Atmospheric cinematography



Must See?
No, though clearly horror film enthusiasts would disagree with me. Listed as a Cult Movie and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Lawless Breed, The (1952)

Lawless Breed, The (1952)

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“I never killed a man except in self-defense.”

Synopsis:
The gambling son (Rock Hudson) of a preacher (John McIntire) kills a man (Michael Ansara) in self-defense and is hunted down by the dead man’s vengeful brothers (Hugh O’Brian, Lee Van Cleef, and Glenn Strange); meanwhile, Hudson tries to earn money to marry his sweetheart (Mary Castle), while a beautiful barmaid (Julie Adams) pines for John (Hudson) despite knowing he’s in love with Jane (Castle).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Ex-Cons
  • Falsely Accused
  • Flashback Films
  • John McIntire Films
  • Julie Adams Films
  • Lee Van Cleef Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Raoul Walsh Films
  • Rock Hudson Films
  • Westerns

Review:
Based on a highly romanticized memoir by real-life gunman John Westley Hardin, this Technicolor western — directed by Raoul Walsh — is notable for featuring Rock Hudson in his first starring role, and for reuniting Hudson with Julie Adams of Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) fame after they co-starred in Anthony Mann’s Bend of the River (1952) and Budd Boetticher’s (non-GFTFF-listed) Horizons West (1952).

Unfortunately, there’s not much else to recommend about this movie, given that the storyline is pure hokum clearly drummed up by a man intending to whitewash his own murderous past. We get a brief sense of this through his fiancee (Castle), who rightfully calls him out on his desire for violence:

“You’ll never stop killing… You’re not afraid of anyone, so long as you have a gun. So long as you can kill! … You’ll always have to prove you’re not afraid. You’ll always have to kill to prove it. How do you feel when you kill? Do you feel bad — or do you feel good?”

Meanwhile, the storyline’s rather improbable ending — involving Hudson’s grown son (Race Gentry) — attempts to close the loop on this tentative theme; but none of it is robust enough to turn this into a truly compelling story.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Some effectively filmed moments

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re a Walsh or Hudson completist.

Links:

Last Command, The (1928)

Last Command, The (1928)

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“I would gladly die tonight — if it would help Russia.”

Synopsis:
When a Hollywood movie director (William Powell) carefully selects a former Russian general (Emil Jannings) to perform in his latest movie, he flashes back to their interactions during the Russian Revolution, when a beautiful revolutionary (Evelyn Brent) helped save Jannings’ life.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Actors and Actresses
  • Flashback Films
  • Josef von Sternberg Films
  • Movie Directors
  • Revolutionaries
  • Silent Films
  • William Powell Films

Review:
Josef von Sternberg’s The Last Command (1928) is notable for earning Emil Jannings the first ever Best Actor Academy Award, albeit in conjunction with his performance in The Way of All Flesh (1927) (not listed in GFTFF). In his Alternate Oscars, Peary gives this award to Charlie Chaplin for The Circus instead, noting that “Jannings was a powerful actor who gave excellent performances,” but his work in 1927-1928 was “just preparation for the greatest of his humiliated characters: the proud Professor Unrath, who loses position and dignity when he falls for Marlene Dietrich’s sexy songstress in [von] Sternberg’s The Blue Angel.” On its own merits, The Last Command remains an interestingly structured “meta” film about a reversal of power dynamics, with one-time revolutionary Powell (looking remarkably dour and world-weary):

now possessing the power to manipulate the man he once hated most, and sultry Brent forced to make a difficult ethical choice:

The question remains — what will Powell do with/to Jannings, and what type of humiliation does he have in store for him? The outcome is somewhat surprising, but the film as a whole doesn’t quite bring enough narrative interest to bear, and thus isn’t must-see viewing.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Emil Jannings as the Grand Duke Sergius Alexander
  • Bert Glennon’s cinematography

Must See?
No, though von Sternberg fans will want to check it out. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Red Badge of Courage, The (1951)

Red Badge of Courage, The (1951)

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“He wished that he, too had a wound — a red badge of courage.”

Synopsis:
A young man (Audie Murphy) fighting for the Union during the Civil War panics during his initial battle, but vows to redeem himself in future skirmishes.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Audie Murphy Films
  • Civil War
  • Cowardice
  • John Huston Films
  • Soldiers

Review:
John Huston’s adaptation of Stephen Crane’s classic novel was notoriously butchered down from two+ hours to just 69 minutes by studio executives (with the original cut lost), yet it remains a potent viewing experience even in its truncated form. By honing in closely on the experiences of a trepidatious young private battling fear, shame, and anger, we see war as both traumatizing and ennobling. Casting decorated WWII veteran Audie Murphy in the lead role was a brilliant choice:

… and he’s surrounded by fine supporting actors as well — including Royal Dano as “The Tattered Man” in a performance that was severely truncated upon editing, but remains powerful even in the few glimpses we do see:

Film fanatics will likely appreciate seeing how Huston’s directorial genius emerges in nearly every scene of this finely shot, emotionally laden movie.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Fine ensemble performances
  • Impressive battle scenes

  • Stark imagery
  • Harold Rosson’s cinematography

Must See?
Yes, as a powerfully told tale by a master director. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

  • Good Show
  • Important Director

Links:

Virginian, The (1929)

Virginian, The (1929)

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“Out here, stealin’s about the lowest, the meanest thing a man can do.”

Synopsis:
A cowboy (Gary Cooper) engaged to a local school marm (Mary Brian) must decide how to handle the fact that his good friend (Richard Arlen) is a cattle rustler working in cahoots with a leader named Trampas (Walter Huston).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Cowboys
  • Gary Cooper Films
  • Victor Fleming Films
  • Walter Huston Films
  • Westerns

Review:
It’s always interesting reading reviews of the first talkies to emerge on screen — in this case, Victor Fleming’s adaptation of Owen Wister’s 1902 novel. Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times starts off his review by noting that “the voices are nicely modulated and the acting pleasingly restrained”, and later adds that “it is evident that the calling upon players to deliver lines causes them to give firm, understanding interpretations of their respective roles, far more so than they ordinarily would do in a silent film.” These days, The Virginian comes across as creaky but reasonably effective (other than concluding with an unsatisfying resolution). Cooper is fine in his breakthrough role, and Brian — once dubbed “The Sweetest Girl in Pictures”, and perhaps best known for her role in The Front Page (1931) — is appropriately plaintive yet feisty as his love interest.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Gary Cooper in an early role

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re curious to see Cooper in his first talkie. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Taking a New Look: A Chronological Overview of GFTFF Titles

Taking a New Look: A Chronological Overview of GFTFF Titles

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Hello, fellow film fanatics!

I’ve had a few requests over the years to tally my votes for whether each of the titles in Peary’s GFTFF is must-see or not (in my opinion), and I’m now a little closer to that.

If you click on this page — named “Chronological Listing of Peary’s Titles – With Votes!” on the Navigation bar — you’ll see all of Peary’s titles from both the front and back of his book in one meta-list, arranged chronologically from 1914 to 1987, with hyperlinks to my own reviews when available — as well as my votes.

YES is in obnoxious red, just to make it super-obvious. (Currently I count 1,409 out of 2,967 titles, or 30.3%, as YES.)

As a reminder, my “Yes” or “No” vote on a title — like for Peary — doesn’t necessarily indicate whether I think a film is amazing… or awful… or somewhere in between. It’s simply my best attempt to indicate whether I think film fanatics of all ages and stripes would benefit from checking it out at some point in their movie-watching career. With that said, there are a ton of “No” votes on my site that I actually think are worthy viewing — just not essential. For instance, often I’ll recommend a film as “worth checking out” if you happen to like a particular actor or director or style…

While there will always be some movies that are indisputably must-see for EVERYONE, in many other cases it’s much less cut-and-dry. Should all film fanatics be familiar with every title that’s been given a Best Picture Academy Award, for instance? You might think so, but … I don’t. I have actually voted No to a few Best Picture Winners (and full admission that I was deeply disappointed in this year’s selection of Nomadland — an okay but flawed indie film that is worth a look if you’re curious, but simply doesn’t cut it as Best Picture material).

However — who’s to say, really? Peary notoriously had his say in Alternate Oscars (which I love citing from), though some of his own selections are pretty questionable… And just because I happen to loathe My Fair Lady (1964) doesn’t mean everyone feels that way; clearly, many don’t.

Back to my new list: by arranging all of Peary’s titles in chronological order, I’ve attempted to get a better sense of the arc of movies he’s recommending (with an abrupt end somewhere in 1987). There are only 12 titles listed from the 1910s (six of which I consider must-see so far) and 138 from the 1920s, but a whopping 673 from the 1950s! Meanwhile, since Peary was so intentional about including foreign titles in his GFTFF, we can somewhat see the range of world cinema over the years — albeit limited to titles that were available to American audiences when he published his book, and certainly not all-inclusive.

At any rate, chronological order remains just one way to try to make sense of cinema over the ages; other schemes I’ve been offering on this site for many years now include categorizing by actor, by director, by genre, and by topic or theme — and of course, simply by those titles reviewed in the front of his book, and those listed in the back.

Regardless of how you choose to peruse your GFTFF titles, I hope you enjoy looking over this new list and seeing how many votes you agree with — or not! (The debate continues… ’twas ever thus.)

– Sylvia (FilmFanatic)

P.S. If you’re a hardcore film fanatic, I would argue you should instantly know which film the still I’ve included up on top of this post is from — but just in case you need a reminder, click here.

Black Pirate, The (1926)

Black Pirate, The (1926)

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“It was the custom of these pirates to subdue their prey, loot the ship, bind their captives and blow them up.”

Synopsis:
A duke (Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.) who escapes the marauding of a merchant vessel by a band of cutthroat pirates seeks revenge and earns his way into their graces, soon helping them single-handedly take over another ship — this one with a beautiful maiden (Billie Dove) on board. Can Fairbanks save Dove from a terrible fate while eliciting support from the nearby government?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Donald Crisp Films
  • Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Films
  • Pirates
  • Revenge
  • Silent Films

Review:
This Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. film is one of only two listed in Peary’s GFTFF, along with The Mark of Zorro (1920) (though I’ve also included The Thief of Bagdad as a missing title). The Black Pirate is notable not only for Fairbanks’ agile derring-do — on ample display, as always — but for its use of an early two-strip Technicolor process. A couple of especially memorable scenes include Fairbanks slicing down the sails of a captured pirate ship with his dagger:

… and the final rescue scene involving a crew of nimble men in swimming shorts:


However, while it’s pretty to look at and Fairbanks is as impressive as ever, the storyline is nothing more than a boy’s fantasy writ large, including hidden treasure, walking the plank, and plenty of pirate-y mischief; it was accurately described by Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times as “a series of robust scenes slung on a slender thread of a story.” This one is will be of interest to Fairbanks fans (or silent film lovers), but isn’t required viewing for all film fanatics.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Several enjoyable action scenes

  • Impressive two-strip Technicolor

Must See?
No. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary’s book.

Links: